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Presidential Communications Operations Office

Presidential Communications Group
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).svg
Seal
Agency overview
Headquarters 3rd Floor, New Executive Building, Malacañan Palace, Manila
Annual budget 1.3 billion (2013)
Agency executives
Website www.pcoo.gov.ph

The Presidential Communications Group or simply the Communications Group, is a collective name for the newly formed offices within the Office of the President of the Philippines and refers to the following positions and offices: the Presidential Spokesperson and the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO, formerly the Office of the Press Secretary).

The Communications Group is primarily responsible for planning, programming, and coordinating the activities that will most effectively collect information about what is happening in the Executive branch of the government, and getting this information to the media. The Group's other role is to help Filipinos understand government policies and programs, and to shore up support for them.

The Presidential Spokesperson speaks on behalf of the President about matters of public interest. Considering the restricted level of access that the media has to the Chief Executive, the Spokesperson is expected to be the primary source of presidential directives in the absence of the President of the Philippines.

The Presidential Spokesperson is not subject to confirm by the Commission on Appointments, and does not have any specific item or plantilla in government.

The current Presidential Spokesperson is Ernesto Abella while the Assistant to the Presidential Spokesperson is China Jocson of the Duterte Administration.

The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) is in charge of disseminating the government’s message to private media entities. It exercises supervision and control over state-owned media entities to disseminate the official messages properly and effecitvely in accordance with the Communications Plan. It is responsible for the accreditation and authentication of the credentials of foreign media correspondents in line with its primary task to cultivate relations and assist private media entities. During the administration of Benigno Aquino III, the PCO was named as the "Presidential Communications Operations Office" (PCOO).

The PCOO Head heads the PCOO with Cabinet rank. He is assisted by an Undersecretary for Administration and Finance, an Undersecretary for Operations, a Chief of Staff, an Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, and an Electronic Data Processing Division Chief.

The PCOO is composed of the following units and agencies:

The Presidential News Desk (PND) functions as the newsroom of Malacañang. It gathers and disseminates information, such as press and photograph releases, and official statements from the Palace, on a daily basis.


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